The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden by Kate Saunders

Author:Kate Saunders
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781408866948
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2021-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

‘It might be something, Mrs Rodd,’ said Blackbeard. ‘On the other hand, it might be nothing. The lady might be anyone, and your neighbour might have any number of reasons for visiting that particular place.’

‘Mr Tully never goes anywhere, Inspector. That is what makes me suspicious. I have kept an eye on him over the past few months, and this is the first time he has left Hampstead since Mrs Transome vanished.’

The day was windless and overcast, and we were walking near the ponds on the Highgate side of the Heath. Mr Blackbeard’s shabby, mud-coloured coat was only just on the right side of respectability, and yet there was something soldierly in his ramrod bearing that gave him an air of authority. He had answered my summons, he had read Dinah’s letter, and now the wheels of his mind were turning.

‘I agree that it looks odd, ma’am, but I don’t see how I can base any new investigation on something you heard at a bishop’s tea party.’ He counted the points on his fingers. ‘Some vicar you know gets married, Mr Tully goes on a visit to the same part of the country, and that’s enough to convince you that this vicar’s wife is a famous actress who’s wanted for murder.’

‘Oh, dear, it does sound far-fetched when you strip it down to the essentials!’ I chose my words carefully, for I sensed beneath his scepticism a glimmer of interest. ‘This is not merely my “instinct”, however; Mr Tully was absolutely devoted to Sarah Transome and she trusted him to the utmost. If she is alive, he is the one person she would wish to contact.’

‘Hmm,’ said Blackbeard. ‘Not her daughters?’

‘I am sure she wants to see them, but she dares not risk “blowing her cover”, as my nephews would say.’ I was gaining in confidence now. ‘I think Mr Tully may be her one remaining link with her old life. It would make perfect sense; I have never been quite satisfied that she died. No body was ever found. Mrs Transome was an actress, well able to disguise herself.’

‘Well now, Mrs Rodd,’ said Blackbeard. ‘I can’t go arresting some vicar’s wife for murder – not without proper identification. My superiors have put the Transome case on the shelf, so to speak, and they won’t be inclined to listen to a lot of stuff about disguises. On the other hand, I think you’ve got something.’

‘Thank you, Inspector!’ This was all I had wanted from him. ‘Now, may I suggest how we should proceed?’

‘Let’s have it, then.’

‘If I am right and this lady is Mrs Transome, the smallest hint that her cover has been blown will be enough to scare her off. Nobody, however, will take much notice if I visit that part of the country on my own account, and I have the advantage of knowing the lady, so it will be a simple matter of identification and I can contact you at once.’

‘On that understanding, ma’am,’ said Blackbeard, ‘I shall be ready and waiting.

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